Where has this year gone? It's November already and the big fat bloke in the red suit is coming to visit very soon, a sign of great fishing ahead on Lake Eildon. The next 8-12 weeks are going be crazy with golden perch schooling up for some fun.

Scattered reports of yellas caught right throughout winter is unusual, and with reports filtering through this season promises to be one of those special ones. Expect to see massive numbers being caught and released from now right up to Christmas. I’m just a little bit excited!

There have still been good reports of nice sized brown trout being taken in the Big River Arm trolling Rapala X- Raps and Tassie Devils with the clown pattern a definite standout. A strange year for cod, the fishing has been consistently inconsistent as I have touched on in the past. The bite window has been short and sharp and at very random times of the day. Now that Cod season is closed and the weather is turning for the better we will see a rise in the water temperature and hopefully a more consistent pattern for yellowbelly. Once the 1st December rolls around, the cod will be raring to go in the lead up to the end of the year.

The trout season on the rivers is in full swing and with dam flow releases around the 500ML mark things are looking good. The results aren't bad either with good number of browns to 3lb in the Goulburn and the Rubicon, as well as lots of smaller rainbows in the faster water playing the game. These little guys go really well in the old smoker but let's remember to be steadfast on the bag limits particularly on the Acheron, and the Rubicon which has copped an absolute pounding over the last 4 years.

At this time of year the ponds have been sensational for obvious reasons and the size and number of fish being caught is fabulous to say the least. With our good friends at fisheries putting in some nice sized brood stock there is a promising stretch ahead. A couple of nice Browns around 6lb have been taken on power bait in the pink colour and a few also on dough. The Tassie Devil in the rainbow trout pattern is always a winner in the ponds and old mate wonder wobbler in silver has also been doing the job. It’s important to enjoy the fishing while it's going off and until the ‘powers that be’ start dropping the water for irrigation and the fishing begins to slow. The Eildon Big Fish Challenge is into its 3rd year and going to be a belter of a comp again. Have a look at the advertisement in this issue and come along with the whole family – you won't be disappointed.

I've been asked by loads of people of late why they are letting so much water out of the lake. The reason is simple – due to a very dry year, the Waranga Basin is very low to the point where they were almost in need of putting pumps in at great cost to keep water flowing. The decision was made to start the irrigation season early to fill the basin now and slow down the flow later in the season which will be great for fishing the Goulburn River around Christmas time where the flow should be around 4000ML instead of 8000-9000ML. This is a positive for the basin along with a guarantee that the water will not go below 30%. Officials are saying that next year will be a very wet one and the Lake will go close to filling again so let's wait and see!

Recently VFM’s own Peter Jung came to Eildon to visit some clients and was treated to a personal tour of the Snobs Creek Hatchery with native fish breeding guru Steve Vidler. As any other mad fisho would, Pete loved it! After his tour, Pete went out on the lake for a short and sharp fishing session with Lenny from the Eildon Bakery and wouldn't you know it he landed a beautiful 55cm yella on a spinnerbait, making the trip well worth it. Pete had a score to settle after his last trip where he got absolutely smoked by a massive cod. I will never forget the look on his face – it was priceless.

Due to the lake dropping so much in tandem with low water temperatures, it has been a relatively slow time compared to other years. I'm sure things will turn around really soon and the yellowbelly will fire on all cylinders.

Quite a few nice trout have been caught lately with Big River the standout point to flatline troll pink Tassie Devils and Rapala X Raps. Only a few redfin to speak of but good ones hitting the kilo mark.

As the Junior Vice President of the Snobs Creek and District Angling Club (credit Homer Simpson) I am very excited to announce that our club has secured the old cricket club rooms nestled nicely on the Pondage to use as our club headquarters for the next 10 years. If anyone would like to join our growing, family orientated club give our secretary Barb Vidler a call on 0428 951 958 and keep an eye out for upcoming events.